The two newest members of Summit County's state legislative delegation will have local swearing-in ceremonies this week.

Greta Johnson, elected in November to represent the 35th Ohio House district, will be sworn in by Barberton Mayor Bill Judge and Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic at 5 p.m. Friday at Firestone Park Community Center, 1480 Girard St. in Akron. The event will be hosted by Summit County Executive Russ Pry.

Emilia Sykes, who will take over the 34th House district that her father, Vernon, held, will be sworn in at 1 p.m. Sunday at United Baptist Church, 1007 S. Hawkins Ave. in Akron. A reception will follow, featuring hors d'oeuvres.

Both Johnson and Sykes will be officially sworn in with members of the legislature in a Jan. 5 ceremony in Columbus.

* Interesting tidbits: Clinton suggested the "Ms. President Patch" while a Girl Scout, which honors "Scouts who study female leaders, consider the role of women in government and research a notable woman in politics."

Gov. John Kasich recently signed legislation making this long-sought designation official. Eight members of the Portage Lakes Purple Martin Association went to Columbus to witness the bill signing.

"This has exceeded our wildest dream," Larry Hunter, president of the group, said in a press release. "We went from one nesting pair in 2000 to the Purple Martin Capital in 2014."

State Rep. Anthony DeVitis, R-Green, had pledged during his reelection campaign to try to get the legislation passed before the end of the session. He said the legislation will "bring increased awareness of the value of the Purple Martin in the Portage Lakes area."

U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, who heads the Congressional Black Caucus, released a statement today on the deliberate shootings of two New York City police officers that includes the refrain, "All lives matter."

Below is the statement from Fudge, D-Warrensville Heights, who represents the 11th district that runs from Cleveland to Akron:

"I am deeply grieved to learn of the murders of New York Police Department Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu. Their tragic deaths are a great loss for the NYPD, their families, and our nation.

This is not about race or affiliation, and it isn't about black versus blue. All lives matter.

The Portage County TEA Party will be taking cookies, pies and cakes to local police and fire departments in the next week to thank them for their service.

Tom Zawistowski, the group's leader, said the effort is partially in reaction to the negativity that has been directed at police in the wake of recent use-of-force incidents in Ferguson and New York City.

"We all know that the vast majority of police and firefighters do an excellent job in protecting our families and our property," Zawistowski said in a news release. "We want them to know that they have our support and appreciation."

Zawistowski said the departments getting goodies include the Portage County Sheriff's Office and police in Brimfield, Mogadore, Mantua, Kent, Windham, Ravenna, Streetsboro, Garrettsville and Aurora.

He began his political journey with a trio of loses in local and statewide elections and was named this week as to head the Ohio Turnpike, cleveland.com reported.

Cole ran unsucessfully for Summit County Council in 2004, Akron City Council in 2007 and the Ohio House in 2008. But, Gov. John Kasich saw something in Cole that voters didn't and brought him to Columbus to join his administration. Cole served as a policy adviser in the Office of Budget and Managment and as president of the Controlling Board, which holds the state's purse strings.

Cole distinguished himself in the past few years with his call for money savings through more collaboration among local governments and schools. It will be interesting to see how he will apply these insights at the turnpike and to watch for the next step in his rapidly ascending career.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency gave Akron an award this week for the city's plan for protecting its water.

Barb Lubberger, an environmental supervisor in the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's Source Water Protection division, presented the city with a certificate during Akron City Council's Public Utilities Committee meeting Monday for the city's "source water protection plan."

"They did such a good job," she told the committee of the city employees who put the plan together.

Lubberger said Akron's is the "premier" plan in the state. She said the plan outlines "strategies to protect the watershed upstream from the water intake."

Paula Sauter, deputy director of the Summit County Board of Elections, will speak at the Federated Democratic Women of Summit County's annual Holiday Gala Luncheon Saturday.

Sauter said she will discuss "the importance of voting and encouraging women to participate in the political process."

The luncheon will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at St. George's Fellowship Centre, 32014 Ridgewood Road in Akron. Prizes will be awarded to the top three attendees wearing the best "spirit of Christmas" attire.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and 29 other senators sent a letter Monday that urges a delay in the planned closures of 82 mail processing centers nationwide, including the one in Akron.

The letter followed a report by the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General that found the postal service failed to fulfill its obligation to study the impact of the closures and properly notify local customers. The closures are expected to begin in January.

"The postal service fulfills an important function in everyday life," Brown said in a news release. "It's vital that the USPS take adequate steps to review these consolidations and their affects on American customers."

Plans call for four mail distribution centers in Ohio to be closed, with the mail instead processed in the next-closest, large city. For Akron, that would be Cleveland.